Means for controlling the supply of electric currents.



G. HENRY.

MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE SUPPLY OF ELEGTEIG GURRENTS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 2,1907.

923,839, Patented June 8,1909.

T OFFTCEO GEORGE HENRY, OF LENNOXVILLE, QUEBEC, CANADA.

MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE SUPPLY OF ELECTRIC CU'RRENTS.

To all whom it may concern:

Lennoxville, Province of Quebec, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Means for Controlling the Supply of Electric Currents and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

This invention relates to automatic means for controlling the supply of electric current sold to consumers for a fixed annual payment, particularly where there area large number of consumers each of whom uses only a small number of lamps or the like, and the object of the present invention is to provide an automatic device which shall be simple in construction, (comprising very few parts) and which shall be capable of accommodating different predetermined loads and of adjustment to suit a change of load without the removal and substitution of parts.

Up to the present in devices of this class there has been no provision for any increase incapacity nor has there been any conven-' ient means of adjustment to more than one predetermined load and any change in the carrying capacity could only be effected by removing a part of the device, the circuit maker and breaker, and substituting anothercircuit maker and breaker to suit the different load. Also having the object of simplicity and cheapness of construction in view have endeavored as far as possible to utilize ordinary stock for certain parts and to have the parts readily accessible to facilitate manufacture and adjustment. 1

The invention may be said briefly to consist of a device to automatically open and automatically close the circuit and such device comprises a base, two circuit terminals,

a lever fulcrumed near one of its ends to present a short arm and a long arm, the latter carrying a contact to norm ally engage'onc of said terminals, 9. thermo-expansive wire having one end secured to the short arm of the lever and its other end connected with the second of said terminals, the long arm of the lever having an adjustable tension device attached to its free end to operate the lever and open the circuit upon the expansion of the thermo-expansive wire I a The invention further consists of'an auxiliary conducting wire paralleling the expansive wire and adapted to carry a portion of the current when it is desired that a greater Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 2, 1907.

Patented June 8, 1909 Serial No. 355,453. I

quantity of current shall be accommodated Be it known that I, GEORGE HENRY, of

than can be carried by the thermo-expansive operating wire alone.

For full comprehension, however, of the invention reference must be had to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view; Fig. 2 an end elevation and Fig. 3 a side elevation of my improved device, Fig. 4 being a diagrammatic. view of a local lighting circuit with the device applied thereto.

Upon a suitable base I: are arranged terminal plates 7' and r from which at one end of each project binding posts n and 8, respectively, to which are detachably connected in the customary manner the leading-in wires 5, 5, of the circuit, while the opposite ends of said plates present posts 0 and g respectively, and in this latter is carried an adjustable screw bolt p carrying a platinum tip p to formthe terminal contact of this part of the circuit.

In order to provide a simple and effective means for not only automatically opening the circuit when an attempt is made to secure more than the stipulated amount of current, but also to automatically close the circuit upon the resumption of normal conditions I employ a circuit making and breaking device as hereinafter described. A lever e referably formed of a simple length of brass bar carrying a platinum contact tip 0, to engage the terminal contact tip p', is fulcrumed at a, near one of its ends to the base 7c, thus being dividedinto a comparatively very long arm portion. e and a very short arm portion e for a urpose presently to be described. To 'thes iort arm "e of the lever is secured through a pin (i, one end of a thermo-expansive wire I), the other end of which is adjustably connected with the post a, rising from the terminal plate" before mentioned, by means of a threaded bolt it, working through an aperture in the post a and having a hooked end g to which the wire bis secured, a nut m on the bolt h serving to regulate the position of th; latter and through it the tension of the. wire The parts of the device thus far described serve only to'efl'ect the automatic closing of the circuit and the parts for automatically opening same consist of a retractile springf having one end secured to a pin 25 projecting from the end of the long arm 0' of the lever c,

' and the other end attached to a threaded adreadily be seen that owing to the compara- As already pointed out the lever is ful c-rumed so as to afford a long arm' portion 6 and the long pull ofi leverage thus secured,

' together with the platinum contact tips, is

for the purpose of preventing as far as possi-. ble any chance of the contacts fusing together under any conditions, because 1t Wlll tively great leverage a very slight force eX- erted by the retractile spring f will be sufficient to operate the lever and open the circuit when the thermo wire lengthens by expansion through carrying an excess of current.

In order to prevent lateral displacement of the lever and at the same time restrict the movement thereof under the influence of the s pringf the pin t is straddled by a pair of pins as carried by a small insulated standard y screwed into the base, the standard limiting the said movement of the lever.

In order to accommodate when desired a greater quantity of. current or larger predetermined load than can be carried by the thermo-expansive wire alone without opening the circuit, Iprovide' an auxiliary wire 2 permanently free from tension and having its ends connected by screws 3, 3, to the lever and the plate 1', and the necessary adjustment to suit the change in the carrying capacity can very readily be effected by altering the tension of the retractile spring f, through the nut w, and threaded bolt u, instead of by substituting for a 5 ring of given inherent elasticity, suitable o y for a given load, another spring of greater or less inher. ent elasticity as in the devices hitherto disrclosed.

What I claim is as follows 1. In means for controlling the supply of electric current the combination with an electric circuit of a circuit making and breaking device adapted to automatically close after it has been opened, said device including a stationary contact, a rigid lever carrying a contact, a pull oil spring for said lever, a thermo-expansive wire controlling the opening and closing of the circuit between said contacts and an adjusting device for regulating the pull off, or breaking, force of the lever, substantially as described.

2. In means for controlling the supply of electric current the combination with an electric circuit of a circuit making and breaking device adapted to automatically close after it has been opened, said device including a stationary contact, a rigid lever carrying a contact, a pull off spring for said lever, a thermo-expansive wire controlling the opening and closing of the circuit betweenv said contacts, an auxiliary wire for carrying .part of the current, and an adjusting device for regulating the pull oil, or breaking, force of the lever, substantially as described.

In means for controlling the supply of electric current, the combination with an electric circuit, of a circuit making and breaking device adapted to automatically open and close said circuit and comprising a base, two circuit terminals, a lever fulcrumed near one of its ends to provide a long arm and a short arm the long arm being adapted to normally bear on one circuit terminal; a thermo-expansive wire connected at one end to the short arm of the lever and at the opposite end to the other circuit terminal; and an adjustable pull-off device for said lever comprising an apertured post carried by the base, a threaded bolt passed through the aperture in said post, a retractile spring having one end attached to the end of the long arm of the lever and the other end attached to the threaded bolt, and an adjusting nut on said bolt, substantially as described.

4. In means for controlling the supply of electric current, the combination with an electric circuit, of a circuit making and breaking device adapted to automatically open and close said circuit and com rising a able pull-oflt' device attached to the end of the long arm of the lever substantially as described.

5. In means for'controlling the supply of electric current, the combination with an electric circuit, of a circuit making and breaking device adaptedto automatically open and close said circuit and comprising a base; two circuit terminals, one of which presents a contact tip and the other a connecting strip; a lever fulcrumed near one of its ends to provide a long arm and a short arm and carrying a contact tip on its long arm, adapted to normally bear on the contact tip of the first named terminal; a thermo-expan'sive wire having one end connected to the short arm of the lever and its other end secured to the connecting plate of the second named terminal and adapted to normally exert a pull upon said short arm to automatically= close the circuit between the contact tips; and a spring having one end secured to the base and the other attached to the end of the long arm of said lever to exert a pull-ofi' force upon such arm and automatically open the circuit between the contact tips, substantially as described.

6. In means for controlling the supply of electric current, the "combination with an electric circuit, of a circuit making and breaking device comprising a base, a lever in the form of a straight ri bar fulcrumed in close proximity to one 0 its ends to the base so as to present a short arm and a long arm which latter carries on one side a contact tip, a terminal 0st projecting from the base at the side of t e lever carrying the tip and presenting a contact tip upon which t e contact tip of the lever normally bears, two posts projecting from the base on the other side of the lever and adjacent the end of the long arm thereof, a thermo-expansive Wire extending from the short arm of the lever to one of the posts adjacent the end of the long arm of the lever, a retractile spring extending from the end of said long arm to the other of the posts adjacent such end of the lever, and means for connecting the wires of the circuit to the terminal post and the post to which the thermo-expansive Wire is attached.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of tWo subscribing Witnesses.

GEORGE HENRY.

Witnesses E. BLUNTINGTON, A. J ONCAS. 

